


what's golden

by neville



Series: thorbruce shorts [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cute, Fluff, High School, House Party, M/M, Party, Swimming, Thor is a Good Boyfriend, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Bruce Banner, Trans Male Character, attempted skinny dipping, supportive Thor, we love supportive thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 13:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19335478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neville/pseuds/neville
Summary: In his last year of high school, Bruce is determined to try new things. One proves a little harder than the others.





	what's golden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thor_odinson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thor_odinson/gifts).



> an early birthday present for my good bro adam!!! happy birthday my fellow thot and thorbruce/gammahammer stan. 
> 
> i took a LOT of the inspiration for this fic from the film booksmart, which i wanted to mention bcus  
> a) it's a great film  
> b) the swimming pool scene in that movie features the song "slip away" by perfume genius, which is just ... WOW  
> c) i really took inspiration from that film 
> 
> title is from the song "what's golden" by jurassic 5, which is a hot ass bop
> 
> and just before u actually get to the fic ... trans bruce banner is a blessing

If he’s totally honest with himself, skinny dipping is the kind of thing Bruce always thought he would have had to be drunk to even consider, but here, in the truck, with Thor peeling clothes off and flinging them on the roof, it’s starting to become interestingly real. It isn’t even night time, but the lake is far out of town, and it definitely isn’t the warmest day they’ve seen this September, meaning that there isn’t anybody else there, just Thor and Bruce and Thor’s truck, which is honestly starting to feel as if it has a personality of its own at this point. 

Before Bruce can even consider whether he thinks he’s going to be okay actually taking  _ anything _ off, Thor is barreling down the dirt path and lets out an absolute battle cry as he jumps from the banks, crashing stark naked into the water. Bruce thumbs open the buttons of his shirt tentatively, and takes a much slower approach to the water. 

“Are you coming?” Thor asks, running a hand through his wet hair and grinning. Bruce is standing on the edge, now, and is beginning to feel palpitations at the thought of taking anything else off: it’s bad enough standing here, in his binder and jeans, and he doesn’t even know if he  _ can _ wear his binder in the water, and if he’d have to take it off after… 

He shakes his head. “I, uh, don’t think I can come in.” 

Thor floats a little closer to the edge. “Are you sure?” he asks, his voice tinged with a little concern. Bruce nods. He can see Thor’s gaze on his binder, and for a moment he feels his skin crawl with anxiety, but then Thor just grins and looks back up. “Conning me into getting naked, huh? Sneaky, Banner. Sneaky.” Bruce can’t help himself but laugh as he stutters out some form of denial, and Thor pats the grass by the edge of the lake. “Sit down. Have you got your phone on you? We should play some music.” 

“I don’t think I have any music for this kind of thing,” Bruce admits as he takes a seat, taking his shoes off so that his feet can skim the water’s surface; even if this wasn’t what he was meant to be doing, it’s kind of nice, too. The water is surprisingly warm, and the sun is beginning to peek out from behind a cloud, casting a golden glow across his skin that warms him up. 

“Aren’t you friends with Shuri?” Thor asks, tipping up so that he’s floating on his back, looking up at the sky, a mishmash of blue and clouds. “I bet she has a song for skinny dipping. Or a whole playlist, for that matter.” 

He’s definitely right about that: Shuri has a playlist for just about every mood Bruce thinks he could ever feel, and possibly more, and so as he lies down in the short grass, he shuffles her STEM club playlist, starting up Jurassic 5’s  _ What’s Golden _ and letting his fingertips tap the beat out against the dried and cracked mud. He can hear the sound of Thor splashing about, and when he lifts his head, finds that Thor is diving down and every now and then re-emerging in a glorious burst of lake water. 

Bruce is listening to  _ Holy Calamity _ when Thor pulls himself out of the water, revitalising some of the dry grass as he drips. On instinct, Bruce averts his eyes as Thor returns to the truck, pulling on his underwear and jeans before returning. He grins. 

“One day, Banner, I look forward to swimming with you. Naked or not.” 

“I’m sorry,” Bruce says, but Thor cuts him off. 

“It’s alright; that day doesn’t have to be anytime soon. Whenever you’re comfortable.” 

Bruce nods, feeling a warmth unrelated to the sun grow in his chest. Most people don’t stop to think about him like that, and he puts his hand over Thor’s, wondering just how he managed to luck out so much. 

  
  


There is now a list on Bruce’s phone of things he thought he would have to be drunk to do, but has done anyway, and today’s addition is  _ go to a house party _ ; but it’s graduation tomorrow, and Thor is very good at persuading him that it’s an experience he should have. They go over to Shuri’s first, where she convinces him to try a mimosa which quickly turns into two, at which point Thor decides they’re fashionably late enough and they take a Lyft to Tony’s house, Bruce now having acquired a sequined blazer and Thor wearing a flower crown. 

“Oh my God, look who it is,” Tony says as he catches sight of them, shoving past and immediately placing a rum and coke into Thor’s hand. “It’s our favourite power couple: Point Break and Gay Einstein!” 

“I thought I was Alan Turing,” Bruce says, going in for Tony’s very drunk hug and neatly avoiding having his face dunked in Tony’s armpit. Bruce had once, in a very boring AP Physics class with Tony, started working on a project of hug trajectories and angles; within a matter of weeks, they’d had a whole pinboard’s worth of hugs. Tony had definitely been going for the armpit crush. 

“Yeah, he was a bit repressed,” Tony says, waving a hand. Bruce isn’t quite sure what to say to that, or if Tony will remember any argument he makes, and just nods, letting Tony show him round the party’s various activities: Bruce manages a game of darts, which he admittedly doesn’t do very well in, and he tag teams with Thor for some ill-fated beer pong where Thor takes all the shots for him. It’s not too bad, all things considered. Not Bruce’s  _ thing _ , per se, but slightly less horrifying than he’d expected. People are even saying hello to him. 

He detaches from Thor for a little while to get some water from the kitchen, where he has a five-minute conversation with Rhodey about fridges that dispense water and whether or not that’s just rich people showing off their privilege, then takes a step outside with his glass of water.

And notices that Tony has a huge pool, which Thor is currently in the middle of, having a splash battle with Valkyrie. Bruce certainly hasn’t forgotten the last time: he’s been thinking about it for months, agonising over it, wishing that he had been in that lake with Thor. As much fun as sunbathing and listening to Shuri’s favourite songs had been, it doesn’t stop him from feeling disappointed in himself. 

He puts his water down on one of the tables, and, before he’s actually aware of what he’s doing, is undoing the buttons of his jeans, pulling his blazer and shirt off, and, before he can feel the fear that’s always held him back, takes a small run-up and cannonballs into the water rather ungracefully, soaking Scott Lang as he walks past. Scott looks a little disappointed by this, but throws Bruce a thumbs up anyway as he realises who it is. 

“Oh fuck, it’s cold!” Bruce yelps as he surfaces next to Thor, grabbing his arm as he shivers. 

“You came in!” Thor says gleefully, beaming at Bruce and hugging him for a brief moment. 

“I can’t believe you did it, little guy!” Valkyrie enthuses from behind him, joining in the hug. “Damn, you’re a hero.” 

Thor is grinning at him so much that Bruce can’t help but smile back, letting him bump their foreheads together. He doesn’t even  _ need _ to tell Bruce he’s proud for Bruce to know, and it helps to swallow up some of the anxiety that’s beginning to rise through his chest as the thought hits him that everyone can see him like this; but Thor is around him, and Thor is holding him and smiling at him, and so for a little while it’s okay: they splash, and play a game of how long can they hold their breath (Valkyrie wins this, practically uncontested), and sit by the side of the pool and share Thor’s rum and coke. Thor is singing  _ Double Rum Cola _ under his breath. 

“It’s going to be so weird after tomorrow,” Valkyrie says, looking over at Bruce. “Not seeing you and him all the time. Not going to classes. Living somewhere else.” 

“We can still Skype,” Bruce offers. “Or you could visit. But it’d be hard to schedule.” 

“We should meet up once more before we all go,” Thor says. “Go to the Roadhouse, get milkshakes, hang out at the lake.” 

“You’re not supposed to swim on a full stomach,” Bruce says absent-mindedly, even though he knows that’s probably been debunked at this point. “I’m glad I did this before the summer, and I hope you enjoy the view, Thor, because this definitely isn’t happening again.” 

“That’s a shame,” Thor says. “You have a lovely collarbone.” 

Bruce snorts, and pulls himself out of the water, hoping to conceal his blush. Thor follows him, and disappears for a moment, returning with a towel that he tucks round Bruce’s shoulders. He kisses into Bruce’s hair for a moment, and Bruce’s blush deepens. Valkyrie stays in the water, swimming over to Carol and leaving the two of them to it; Thor, who had been locating his flower crown and arranging it back atop his head, takes a seat next to Bruce, putting a hand over his. Bruce can feel the beat of the music in the palm he has rested against the ground, and has the distinct feeling that Shuri has taken over DJing for the time being. 

Mentally, he adds this item to his list, and looks over at Thor; hell, if it weren’t for Thor, he’d never have experienced any of this. He knows he’s going to go to college and retreat back into spending time in his room chugging coffee and pulling all-nighters to write essays, and that’s fine, but this has been kind of nice, too, exploring the world outside of his comfort zone in a way that doesn’t take him too far out. Without Thor, he never would’ve been able to do this, never get to experience all of this and enjoy his last year of high school like he’s never enjoyed anything before. 

“Want to go and dance?” Thor asks, jolting Bruce from his reverie. 

“You know what,” Bruce says, taking Thor’s hand, “why not.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! i hope you enjoyed it!!!! i know this isnt my best bcus i've been having a but of writer's block which, frankly, Ew, but when adam's birthday comes calling u just Gotta. and ofc i love my sons and had a blast writing this!!! and im glad u read it
> 
> many thanks to my friends em and joyce for being okay with me arriving in their messages screaming "IS THIS OKAY??" and linking this fic, and thanks to joyce for pointing out things that could make this cuter. im love


End file.
